Nice Andy could be tied into the fact that he seems pretty happy with Angela, general cluelessness and vague sense of uneasiness aside. I think the impending explosion when he finds out about Angela and Dwight will cause him to revert back to Old Andy pretty quickly.

I think this is less Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration and more Phyllis overcompensating for how bad Angela treated her, now that the tables are turned. I came *thisclose* to feeling bad for Angela, too.

They have hinted that Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, is very controlling in their relationship. I can't imagine the sweet Phyllis of season 2 ever being this mean unless something's bubbling under the surface.

Really? He seemed pretty sweet bidding on a hug from Phyllis. Perhaps I just never noticed anything else he has done.

Great opening gag and loved Creed being able to get a permit for controlled fires in an hour. I also liked that even though it was a Christmas episode that we got very little Pam and Jim. I figured there would be some tension built with a present or something like that, but I'm glad their wasn't. I really like their interactions, but it was good to keep them in the background for an episode. Dwight was awesome as usual.

I only started watching The Office this week, and I'm already in Season 4. How did I manage to live all this years without it? I dunno.
Total mark for this show. Also, in real life, I'm getting this habit of starring at a point and making facial expressions like it's a camera in there when something awkward happens.

Phyliss had a talking head once about how Bob thought she talked on the phone with her sister too much and basiclly laid out an ultimatum, if I remember correctly...

ultimoDANK

Anyone know when it returns?

That sounds more than a little familiar, but I can't recall the specific instance.

Weird double post...

look over there!:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/launchpad/..._launchball.swf

After watching some episodes on my DVR it seems Phyllis mentioned that tidbit to Dwight in the elevator during the Crime Aid episode. She was telling him to send Angela an ultimatum like Bob did to her about talking on the phone.

15th, I believe.

Right! I do remember that. Good call!

Man is the Pam Beesley character just really fucking annoying this season. Season two I loved her, now Jenna Fischer is just making me hate her.

For those fans of The Wire on here. Idris Elba has been cast on The Office.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=51960
Aaand another source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998589.html

Man, what a great episode. Several "LOL" moments here. Andy's Prius attack, Jim's futile attempts at stopping the fight, scheduling the fight on their break, the high five, and the Sasquatch exchange were all solid gold. If this is the payoff to Andy/Dwight/Angela, then I am satisfied.

I thought that arc started next week.

I enjoyed the last five minutes, the Prius attack, and Dwight's gesture that ended it all were good. I may be in the minority, but I respected Michael for at least telling Andy since the rest of the staff were too afraid or uncaring to do so themselves.

A good episode, I guess I was hoping for a much bigger explosion from Andy, and was disappointed that he was just comically mad instead.

"When you get older, you have less choices" was the best part to me.

I agree with this. Definitely a good episode; I feel like the show overall is SO much stronger than it was last season, and I *like* that they try to take us down a different path than normal sitcoms and play with our expectations. Having said that, I almost feel denied at missing Andy freaking the fuck out. Like they swerved us just for the sake of swerving us when what we expected would have been much funnier. Still, a fun episode with a lot of good one-liners. Definite thumbs up.

Ooh, yay!

Relatively big (I guess it depends on your perception) spoiler under the cut:

The Idris Elba arc sounds phenomenal. I hope he takes Jan's/Ryan's old job. He has such a great on screen presence that the idea of him coming to the branch to evaluate, or based on last night, try to figure out what the hell Michael is doing correctly will be fantastic.

Question, since Michael was in New York, did they get the pasta from Sbarro's?

Well they swerved me. I thought for sure the season would end with some kind of wedding episode at Shrute Farms where Dwight somehow married Angela out from under Andy. I suppose this was better.

Oh and Stringer Bell interacting with Michael and Dwight is going to be priceless.

ultimoDANK

If that spoiler happens, quite frankly, it needs to be saved for the series finale. That would be the perfect way for the show to go out on.

Looks like good stuff is coming down the pike, and the fact that Jim & Pam have been curtailed to background characters as a couple is nothing but smart.



Since they already had done something like that, it would've been way too similar to end the season on that.

That was a tremendous episode. One of the best subplots they've done in a LONG time with great lines from nearly the whole cast.

I thought this was a horrible episode. The main plot with Dwight and Michael was ridiculously basic; only saved by the great acting of Carrell and Wilson. The Hilary Swank bit was a great idea, but wasn't fleshed of enough to be entertaining. It was almost like they had the idea and just filmed each character saying "Yes, hot", "No, not hot". Very disappointing. At the end I literally turned to my friend and said "That's it!?".

I love this show, but that might have been the worst episode of the series.

I agree...NOTHING happened here.

ML

Seconded.

So like... ummm... I know many people wanted the show to be less centered around Jim and Pam but... aren't they supposed to be engaged and stuff? Would it hurt to mention that once in a while and I dunno... advance the story?

Rob

Where the hell has Ryan been? He shows up again, gets involved with Kelly, and then falls off the face of the earth. Awesome.

I just accepted it as a purely throwaway episode. Compared the the recent episodes they've done, it was bad. Andy still seemed normal, which struck me as odd. Same for Angela. I didn't hate it, but I agree in that it wasn't much of an episode. Here's hoping they really kick it back into gear next week, I think they will.

However, Stanley talking passionately about Hilary was funny. And there were a couple funny lines. I liked how the one store owner said he started it after Vietnam and Michael commented on it being nice over there which led to some awkwardness.

I didn't find anything wrong with this episode at all - lots of funny lines, and as someone who works in a sales job, some of the scenes at Prince Paper were a hoot. Plus, I think we all know someone who distinguishes hot/attractive/doable just like Kevin does, so that was funny.

Though, I did find it strange that after the conclusion of the Andy/Angela/Dwight triangle last week, Andy and Angela acted as if none of it ever happened and it was just another day at work.

It was almost as if they filmed this episode out of sequence with any of the actual storylines or before they knew how they would conclude any story arcs, as if they knew they would have to have a placeholder episode this season - but this theory doesn't even make much sense.

Did you not see the episode where he tells Kelly it's over, again, and then asks Kelly for money because he and some friends are going to Thailand for a while?

I could see this one not being popular, what with all the Pam-Jim and Dwight-Andy-Angela stuff all season, and this having none of it, or any kind of forward momentum. Personally, I really enjoyed it. And I dreaded the Hilary Swank subplot because it seemed lame as hell, but Kevin was awesome in it. His lines alone saved it.

I think they completely missed out on the ending. Michael says Swank is hot. The "hot" crowd cheers. Then Dwight should have added "No, she isn't." THEN you end it.

And as much as I've enjoyed this season, they have dropped the ball on Ryan. They took what should have been a slam dunk by making him a higher-up in season 4, and have never had a clue what to do with him ever since. Now he's like Paul on Cheers. He appears on half the shows and gets about three lines when he's there.

Yeah, I think they've kinda painted themselves in a corner with Andy, Angela, and Dwight. I mean, it's over, but could you realistically continue working at a place where two of your co-workers have severely screwed your personal life?

Not.

Plus isn't B.J. Novak filming Inglorious Bastards right now? I can see that being a main reason for him not being on the show. Plus I think he said it was time for his character to take a break.

Oh, and I thought the show was pretty funny. I found the Dwight/Michael chase scene to be extra funny because my cats were chasing each other for no reason at the same time. I also enjoyed Michael's take on bittersweet chocolate. Who is that helping?

This was obviously a placeholder-type episode, but I liked it. Not every episode can focus on their relationship issues, they have to mix it up some and show what a "normal" day in the office is like. It wasn't like Angela and Andy hugged each other or Jim/Pam were having issues, but one has to imagine that not every single hour in their office are they wrapped up in their relationship problems. I have two recently divorced people in my office.... awkward, sure, but business continues as usual without constant flare-ups :) The storylines would get old quick if they were harped on in every episode. A few months ago people were complaining that Jim/Pam were the focus too much, well the writers realize we don't want to see the same thing every week.

I take this as like in the last few seasons of X-Files, which (to me) weren't as good because the main storyline was about the government and the conspiracy surrounding it. But every so often they'd have a normal episode with no mention of the government, just showing them working on an individual case. Not every episode can be about the same thing, sometimes you have to mix it up a bit. Was it the best Office episode of the season? Hardly, but it was solid and gave us a bit of a breather from the storylines. It wasn't completely void of storylines anyway as it furthered Michael getting on Wallace's good side which is bound to lead to something.

My complaint isn't that it didn't have enough "Office" story in it. My complaint is that it wasn't funny.

Which I completely understand, I was more responding to those disapointed that the love triangle/Pam and Jim weren't mentioned. It wasn't nearly as funny as other episodes this season.

Has Darryl been written off due to his real life drug issues? I don't remember seeing him since Kelly broke up with him with the last shot of him waving back as he walks to his car. Hope that wasn't his farewell.

Did those of you calling this the worst episode see "Did I Stutter?"?

Or "Job Fair"...or most of season 4 for that matter. This was a funny episode. Far from the best ever, but I don't think it was as much of a throw away as some are making it out to be. David Wallace further trusting Michael, and Michael coming through big time, plants further seeds for that relationship and the storyline of Michael getting away with whatever he wants because his branch is making money.

Nobody has yet mentioned my favorite moment, when Dwight was trying to convince Michael to send the list, and I think was talking about Micheal making disastrous decisions in love, and Michael says "Jan ... Ryan."

I liked the "it's from James Bond" explanation Michael gave Dwight about "live and let live".

Which was hilarious.

Yeah, I was shocked that they didn't do it. In fact, they could've easily done that and called back to the Andy/Angela/Dwight triangle by having Dwight glance between the two, and side with Andy. Very casually. Could've really helped there.

I just thought for an episode not really focused on the ongoing storylines, it had its moments and is going to be the transition until how they end the whole season. Plus, I like that it still continues Jim's very slow simmered storyline that he's starting to turn into someone that feels the need to work at the office, rather than still being "Office Olympics emcee" Jim.

Yeah, I liked that episode actually. This was just so flat with a horrid B-plot that was worse than "The Finer Things Club".

I'm just disappointed and surprised it was a BJ Novak episode.

My first thought after watching was" Boy was that a whole bunch of nothing." Michael's conflict of conscience was interesting, but nothing else about this ep did much for me. The Hillary Swank stuff wasn't funny, amusing, or purposeful, and while I get that this was just a basic episode to cool things down after last week's big one, it bored me quite a bit.

I agree that the B-plot was brutal but the Michael/Dwight stuff more than saved this episode for me. I liked how Dwight was extra cold blooded in wanting to destroy Prince Paper, maybe a hint at the anger Dwight is feeling in his personal life. I to lost it at the "Jan, Ryan.." line.

ultimoDANK

TRUTH.

This wasn't five stars but it was far from the bottom of the barrel.

Besides, how can you hate anything with the return of Michael Scarn?